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2017 saw a monstrous $84B in venture capital invested, the highest total since the dot-com era began and also the fourth consecutive year to reach over $30B raised for US-based VC funds. However, this venture capital is going to later stage companies as the total deal count declined for the third consecutive year and $19B was invested in rounds with a valuation of at least $1B.
Is becoming a... Read more »

1—When closing a candidate, speed wins
The “war for talent” in 2017 was fierce and we are expecting this trend to continue heading into 2018. Personally, I know every executive I helped recruit this year had 2,3,4+ competing offers at the time we recruited them. When it becomes crystal clear you want someone on your team, one of the biggest competitor advantages you have is to move on them... Read more »

The recent turmoil about Travis Kalanick is another chapter in the tech saga of “Founder CEOs who get their companies into trouble.” Kalanick certainly has his flaws as a leader, but in fairness he did build an industry-altering empire now valued at $70B. Kalanick’s embattled status as Uber’s CEO begs the question, what makes certain Founder-CEOs more effective operators and leaders than others?... Read more »

By any measure, I’m not an authority on basketball, but watching the NBA Finals I couldn’t help but see lessons all of us can learn from watching these two great teams. How would your executive team do if they were playing in your championship finals?
Teamwork
The way the Warriors and Cavaliers teams passed the ball, moving up and down the court, constantly changing plays and firing off... Read more »

The IPO is not the end of the road for a company, but rather the beginning. To prepare for life after the IPO, you need to start creating your future public board of directors at least a year beforehand. Ideally, this means a board with six independent board members and one or two inside directors (usually the Founder(s) and/or the CEO).
Here is how to think about roles to be added for your newly... Read more »